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Glite Dictionary
to take for all one has got

to take for all one has got

9.9
To trick someone and steal all their money and belongings
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : explotar
  • Be wary of scammers who want to take you for all you've got.

Examples

  • They were almost taken for all they'd got by the dishonest contractor.

  • The fraudster tried to take her for all she's got with his elaborate scheme.

  • Don't take for all one has got from her!

  • He will take for all one has got if you let him.

  • Be wary of scammers who want to take you for all you've got.

  • The fraudster tried to take her for all she's got with his elaborate scheme.

  • He will take you for all you've got if you are not careful.

Synonyms

to take advantage
vsto take for all one has got
549 4.6

To use a person or situation to get an unfair benefit for yourself

is stronger, meaning to exploit someone as much as possible
to take advantage of
vsto take for all one has got
465 2.5

Use someone's trust or weakness to get something unfairly

is harsher, seeking to extract all possible value from the person
to exploit
vsto take for all one has got
214 5.6

To use someone or something in an unfair way to get an advantage

is more extreme and aims to take everything from a person
to play it for all it's worth
vsto take for all one has got
  • Informal
7.5

Use a chance as much as possible to get the most from it

focuses instead on harming or draining a person completely, not just a chance

Antonyms

to support
∞ 1.0

Give help to a person or idea

to give back
684 1.0

Return something to the person who owns it after you use or borrow it

How Exploitative

to take for all one has got
  • Informal
9.9
to exploit
214 5.6
to use
∞ 6.3

Surface Forms

take for all one has got infinitive
taking for all one has got present participle
takes for all one has got third person singular
took for all one has got past
taken for all one has got past participle

Morphology

take + for + all + one + have + get

The phrase literally strings together recognizable words meaning 'take all someone has', so learners who know the constituents can infer the core idea of taking everything. However, the nuance of exploiting or deceiving (cheating someone out of all their possessions), the fixed idiomatic phrasing ('for all one has got'), and somewhat archaic wording make the exact pragmatic sense less directly predictable.

Etymology

Take for all one has got comes from the image of a thief emptying a person's pockets and taking every last coin. The word take and all show that everything is taken, so it now means 'to cheat or use someone until they lose everything'.